ESPN did a feature story on the acceptance and adaptation of analytics by team in each of the major sports. Here's the Buffalo writeup, who they list as one of the "Believers" which is in the 2nd tier, behind the "All In" tier which only includes the Blackhawks.
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12331388/the-great-analytics-rankings#
http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12331388/the-great-analytics-rankings#
General manager Tim Murray is known for his scouting background and ability to find young talent, but he's also completely on board with the analytics movement.
Murray has been given the green light to spend big on analytics by ownership, and the Sabres are early adopters (along with the Philadelphia Flyers) in using Catapult technology that gathers biomechanical data during practice to monitor intensity, heart rate and fatigue, along with other movements.
The Corsi rating is named for -- but not invented by -- former Sabres goalie coach Jim Corsi, who was with the team for 13 years until joining the St. Louis Blues in 2014. Corsi, a former NHL goalie, believed goalies exerted themselves more than "shots on goal" revealed and began recording any action that required a goalie to react. But it was bloggers Tim Barnes and Gabriel Desjardins who took Corsi's ideas and turned them into a statistical instrument charting each player's contributions on the ice, regardless of role.
The Sabres' 37.2 Corsi for percentage through 52 games this season was the lowest of any team since 2007 -- and it really isn't close (next-lowest were the 2013-14 Maple Leafs at 42.8 and 2007-08 Thrashers at 42.9).
Like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Sabres have been widely accused of tanking, and a cynic might suggest that it takes a team that really understands analytics to be this bad at just the right time, with Connor McDavid waiting for the team that gets this year's No. 1 pick.
